Spirit to the Guardians: More Then The Stars

Chapter 7: Entrance

(Leo's POV)
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Ok, let me just clarify that I am not attracted to Sheri. She just...surprised me. I didn't really see that coming. And the fact that she's rubbing my shoulders makes this even worse. Carlos bursted out laughing, my mom snickered, and Sheri started giggling too.
"Sorry Leo," Sheri was trying to talk through her laughter. "I did that so we could experiment to see if this thing glowed." She lifted my wrist and pointed at the gem part of my watch. Sure enough, it was glowing.

"Basically, your gem starts glowing when you have a very strong emotion, like happiness, sadness, and better yet, embarrassment." Carlos explained. "Or lust."
"I dare you to say that again." I asked. Carlos just gave a small chuckle and let it be. Then again, it was an empty threat. Although Carlos was shorter then me, he's well trained from the looks of it, and he's also slightly more muscular.

Mom kinda just stood there for that whole thing laughing, but she finally came to the realization of how big this is.
"So I guess that means he's ready, huh?" She asked. Her eyes smiled but the rest of her face didn't, which made me upset.
"Yep. All you have to do now is take the oath." Carlos smiled.
"Thank you for letting us train Leo. I promise, as the general, I will make sure Leo's safety is not threatened." Sheri reassured Mom. My mom smiled and shook her hand.
"Carlos, would you do the honor?" Sheri asked. Carlos nodded and pulled out his gold ring with a white gem in the middle. He touched it against my watch, also white in color. At that moment, Carlos's gen started to glow and so did mine.
"Leonard Allen, with this oath, you shall be sworn in as a agman of the luxlums, protecters of the light." He started, his expression was cold and serious, very unusual for Carlos.
"Do you swear to be bound by the loyalty of the luxlums, by the name of the Everflame, Holy the Sea, and the Creator?" Carlos asked. He held out his hand and waited for me to shake it.

I looked towards Sheri. Her eyes were lit up, she smiled very contently at me. That's a smile I hope I never have to see crushed again. She was bullied a lot back in elementary school for being a runt, but now look at her. Shes so brave and confident, she may be the only thing making me say yes to this whole thing.

I look at Carlos right in the eyes, he gave me the usual smirk he gives when he knows what's up. Carlos can come out as a total douche sometimes, but really he's one of the kindest people I've ever met. He's just a bit of a clown while doing it.

And then I looked at my mom. I couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad, but she looked like she had accepted it. My mom is the most important person in my life right now. Since my father left us, I have to protect her, and if danger comes my way and I can't deal with it, I'll be a failure. I need to do this. I need to keep her safe.

I looked at my watch and Carlos's ring one last time.
"I do." I took his hand and shook it firmly, not taking my eyes away from Carlos's. Carlos nodded, still smirking.
"Then it is my honor to pronounce you as an agman of the luxlum guardians. May your training be successful." He smiled.
"Per aspera ad astra!" Carlos yelled.
"Per aspera ad astra!" Sheri yelled.
"What does that mean?" Mom asked.

"Through difficulties to the stars." Carlos responded.
"What language?" I asked
"Latin."
"Why Latin?"
"Latin is a very foundational language, but it's not spoken much now. It's almost a dead language, so it's the universal language of loco Lucis." Sheri explained. Makes sense to me.
"What does the phrase mean?" Mom asked.

"Well the life of a guardian is not easy, but it has big payoff. So it's a cheer we yell when toasting or when something good happens." Sheri explained.  "So Leo, ready to visit Loco Lucis together?" She asked. I nodded, and then this spiraling hole with sparks coming out of it opened.
"Bye mom!" I wished her off.
"What are you saying bye for?" Mom asked.
"Oh forgot to tell ya, but mortals can't see the entrance. A salio will cover for us." Carlos whispered. We all stepped in.

And what I saw is a mixture of things I expected and didn't expect.